Four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen has great qualities. He drives to overcome the car's problems and even when it seems that the car is not at the level of his opponents, he manages to find a way to shoot the winning shot and exit except as the winner, with an excellent result. The Dutchman is told that he is the magic man, the one who can do anything, the driver who would win even if put behind the wheel of a three-wheeled toy.
The Dutchman has proven to be this, and more, many times throughout his career, but in the end, after a period of great difficulty, lasting almost a year, in which he had to work overtime to win the title in 2024 and keep Red Bull afloat in this first half of the season, he now finds himself with a winning weapon in his hand.
3 pole positions, 3 victories and 2 second places: the haul of the last 5 races
The RB21 was never a project to be crumpled up and thrown in the trash. In the first 14 races he certainly proved to be immature and Max, despite not being entirely at ease, still managed to achieve 4 pole positions and 2 victories. Results that actually required considerable effort on his part to impose himself on McLaren and its rivals. Now, however, upon returning from the summer holidays, things are very different. Red Bull has changed its team principals, the environment is more relaxed and the most recent updates have worked.
After the Dutch GP, Max took 3 pole positions (Italy, Azerbaijan and the United States) and 3 victories as a final result, completing the five-race haul with two second places and a further victory in the Texas Sprint the RB21 no longer resembles the problematic car of the beginning of the season. Now it's a certainty and it's giving Verstappen the chance to compete for the drivers' championship, something unthinkable until August, like Piastri and Norris, except with a small extra advantage.
An opportunity that if in the first half of the year Max built himself with magic, he can now pursue thanks to a newfound and unexpected competitiveness of his car. Being fast on tracks as diverse as Zandvoort, Monza, Baku, Marina Bay and Austin indicates that something has changed, that in addition to being a magician, the car can also support it. The mechanics have managed to unlock great potential and Verstappen, in addition to knowing how to exploit it, is able to manage it correctly.
You don't get pole position, randomly taking three tenths of second place and attempting even just once at the start of Q3, as happened saturday in Texas and then dominating the race unchallenged. Red Bull is back and McLaren would do well to react, especially now that even the magician can stop doing magic.
Photo: Red Bull Racing
Read in italian version: Verstappen, Il tempo delle magie è terminato
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